The Increase in the Demand for Lasallian Accountants

Brought About By Economical Issues

And the Edge of DLSU




A research paper
Presented to:
Dr. Jose Cristina Parina




In partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements for
ENGLRES
Trimester (2012-2013)




Ronald Emmanuel C. Francisco, Marvin Joshua Chan
November 29, 2012

1


Thesis Statement:
The demand for Lasallian accountants increase because of the increasing
financial crisis, educational advantages of DLSU and competitiveness of being a
Lasallian graduate.

Outline
I. Introduction
A. Background of accounting
1. Definition
2. Use of accounting
B. Thesis Statement
II. Increasing Financial Crisis
A. Issues in Accounting
1. Inside the companies
2. Outside companies
3. Unethical behavior of accountants
4. Resolutions
B. Accounting Scandals and crime
1. Robbery inside accounting firms
2. Not abiding with the law
3. Increasing complexities in tax laws
2

C. Effects
1. Need for more specialized accountants
2. Increase risk in financial institutions
3. Developing countries will need accountants
4. Increase in Demand
5. Importance of ethics
III. Educational advantage of DLSU accountants
A. DLSU Top accounting school
1. Experienced professors, professionals and masters
2. Organization that help future accountants
3. Teaching curriculum
B. Partners with International accounting Institute
1. CIMA, International institute, team with DLSU
2. AIM, Asian Institute, team with DLSU
IV. Competitiveness of being a Lasallian graduate
A. Impact on accounting profession
1. Credibility
2. Job opportunities
3. Higher chances of being hired
B. Board exam passing rate
1. Consistent 100%
2. DLSU tops board exams
V. Conclusion
3


Accounting is known to be one of the most important departments in an entity
and also serves as the backbone of most businesses. It is defined as the information
system that identifies and records economic events and communicates them to
interested users through financial reports. Based on the textbook, Principles of
accounting, 6
th
edition by K. Chalmers, the information that is needed by the users of
financial information depends on the kinds of decisions made by them. Because of the
differences in these decisions, the users of financial information is divided into two
broad groups; Internal users of accounting information serves as the managers who
plan or decide, organize and facilitate a business. These include production
supervisors, marketing managers, chief financial officers and other employees. Second
are the external users which have many types. One are the investors of owners which
uses accounting information in making decisions whether to buy, hold or sell shares.
Second are creditors such as suppliers and bankers. They use accounting information
to evaluate the probable risks of giving credit or lending money to people. With that
said, businesses need accountants to monitor the economic standing of an entity and
interpret them properly to users. Moreover, because they are indeed helpful in an entity
most specially in determining its gains which may lead to the companys success or its
loses which may lead to bankruptcy, accounts have grown to be one of the most in-
demand profession and most sought out course in colleges and universities. Added to
that, one of the universities that offer high quality accounting course is the De La Salle
University (DLSU). Thus, being true to one of the motto of the university which states
that; Your future begins here, DLSU are consistently producing highly trained
4

professionals which are needed by companies not only in our country, but in the whole
world. This paper seeks to provide information about the increase in the demand for
Lasallian accountants because of the increasing financial crisis, educational advantages
of DLSU, and the competitiveness of each Lasallian graduate.
In the chapter co-authored by George A. Walker in the book "Managing Risk in the
Financial System, the based committee on banking supervisions had identified a number
of characteristics of the pre-crisis financial system. In the banking and financial system,
there had been too much abuse, excessive debts have accumulated. The risks to reflect
more cautiousness in long term objective had been managed by inadequate risk
governance and weak incentives. Moreover, the compensation packages in their
objectives are poorly designed. Failure to monitor systemic risks and interconnection
between financial institutions was very much present. This failure aggravated conditions
that are too big to fail. Because of excessive leverage, insufficient conversion of cash
and poor incentives for risk taking, the banking sector was vulnerable to shocks.
Supported by these issues were many unethical behaviors of accountants that
lead to service crisis, as mentioned in the thesis of Ms. Marivic V. Manalo. The
American International Group (AIG), Bear Sterns, World Com and the like are only a
few which bring about public criticisms in business worldwide which attacked the
accounting profession. In 2004, a new code of ethics was established by the Board of
Accountancy with the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants to address the
crisis in the accounting profession caused by the scandals in some firms. Because of
the corporate collapses and scandals that accounting is currently facing, the effect on
5

the reputation of the accounting profession is considered severe of facing credibility
crisis.
According to Ms. Manalo, the accounting profession has developed for decades
the trust of the public. However, in recent years, their reputation are now dimming and
becoming bad due to the different crimes and scandals that have been well-publicizes.
Because of these, steps were undertaken by many accounting regulatory bodies
throughout the world to ensure that the morality and behavior of Certified Public
Accountants by emphasizing on the laws that will be implemented. Firms and
companies also reacted to the situations and heightened their focus on hiring Certified
Public Accountants to lower down expenses and gain good financial controls which
require the expertise of accountants. Mastery over the hard skills like creating
efficiencies in finance functions and managing the budgets and costs are more
important than ever before. But to distinguish the high-functioning CPAs, soft skills
such as communication and diplomacy are playing a key role.
Stated by LaBrosse, Caminal ang Singh(2011), as a result of all these financial
crisis and continuous insufficient options for resolving insolvent large complex financial
institution, regulators and legislators in the US have passed new resolution procedures
that would be applied to LCFIS. Their main goal is to: (1) Control the timing of the
launching of the process of insolvency. (2) Control the allocation of losses that are
realized across different creditors. (3) Control the way of disposition of assets, including
the where to liquidate it in the private sector or transfer the parts into a bridge institution.
(4) The management of an insolvent LCFI should be reported. Also as an act of the
6

government here in the Philippines, they implement more and increasing complexities in
tax laws. They realize that ethics is always an important to every form or business.
Stephen James Associates, Morgan Lloyd and A.E. Feldman in their articles
presented same information that the demand for Certified Public Accountants remains
high despite the current financial crisis and scandals. Although many industries are
closing, the accounting industry maintains demand for jobs at the current rate and may
possibly increase. However, the demand on the accounting profession continues to
change unexpectedly in different ways. This unexpected change is due to the increasing
regulations and complexities in tax laws but also lowers the demand because of the
risks of the scandals. Although the crisis will change the conditions of the marketplace,
the AICPA study finds the majority of CPA firms surveyed reported growth over the past
years which are a significant increase from the previous 2006 survey. But the demand
for the accounting profession increases and more things are to be expected because of
the financial crisis and scandals that are going through the world, the development for
the accounting education is also in demand. The accounting education serves as the
stepping stone and backbone of not just the skills and knowledge of the profession but
also the ethics and mindset of the accountants.
In terms of the ethics, Ms. Manalo mentioned in her thesis that accountants these
days need to acquire moral perspective, character and justice to pass through different
situations and take stand in their works not only the technical and accounting skills. The
accounting education is the foundation and basis of the competence and morality
among accounting students, future accountants and professional accountants. Here in
the Philippines, ethics in education and profession are in priority. De La Salle University
7

Manila (DLSU) assumes the teaching strategies that are effective in teaching
business ethics to student in accounting majors. The value of incorporating ethics in
education is emphasized because some scandals were caused by methodological
errors and judgment errors about the application of accounting techniques. For the
course to be effective, educators should be the top priority and it will be a challenge on
the part of the teachers to not only develop intellect but also attitude.
De La Salle University Manila focuses on transformative learning as the main
teaching strategy which centers on the students as learners and teachers as facilitators
on the bridge for learning, as stated by Ms. Manalo in her thesis about developing a
business ethics curriculum for the Bachelor of Science in accountancy (BSA) students
of De La Salle University. She added, it is also important that teaching accounting ethics
should be similar to the curriculum goals of the school and accounting program; not an
attempt to teach students other doctrines or any particular type of morality. Over the
past few years, different teaching strategies were adopted and used in teaching ethics
in education without sacrificing the technical and knowledge part of the accounting
course. Institutions of higher learning across the world are responding to technological,
political, social and economic pressures and prepare students for future societal roles.
One of the educational advantages of Lasallian accountants is that De La Salle
University partners with different International accounting institutes. According to Manila
Bulletin Publishing Corporation:
MANILA, Philippines Filipino management accountants will have the
opportunity to boost their competitive edge both here and abroad by
8

obtaining their international qualifications without leaving Manila as UK-
based chartered institute of Management accountants(CIMA) teams up with
two of the most prestigious institutions in the Philippines to offer its
professional qualifications here in the country.
CIMA added:
We are very pleased to partner with the 2 best universities in the Philippines.
CIMA hopes to work closely with both institutions to train more management
accountants who in return will help their companies to grow and boost the
countrys economy, according to Prof. Dr. Robert Jelly, Executive Director
for education at CIMA Global
In one forum in Pinoy Exchange under Campus chat and De La Salle
University, it was discussed that De La Salle University has top accounting education
and good university partners which is very much reflected in the professional lives of
these accountants. DLSU had the 3
rd
time for the last 3 years to have 100% board
passing rates for accountants. There had been a low passing rate in May 2009 which
was only 78% and in October 2009 which was 85% but DLSU managed to increased
the rate of passers, Board exam rate for May 2010 was 98% and for October 2010
was 100%. There was a significant increase in the passing rates of Lasallian
accounting graduates. Moreover, the rate was retained high until 2012 and ranges
from 97% to 100%. People from forums discussed things about tha passing rate and
mentioned that even though the number of takers is low, DLSU prefers quality over
quantity. Takers who didnt pass the board exam means that they do also not
9

deserve to graduate the course itself. Some others mentioned about the credibility
and job opportunities of DLSU graduates. Lasallian accountants are credible in their
job because the school teaches the students proper values and the proper etiquette
in the business. They also have better job opportunities not only because they are a
graduate of a prestigious school but because of their knowledge and attitude in the
workplace of accounting.
Cynthia P. Cudia presented in her scholarly journal, Factors that influence the
final grades of students in Managerial Accounting Course in De La Salle University,
that accounting can be considered as one of the specialty courses of De La Salle
University. This statement is supported by experienced accounting professors who
thoroughly discuss each and every detail an accounting student has to know, bountiful
resources offered to students like accounting books, an organization which help the
student in their exams, and various activities where an aspiring accountant continue to
grow as a professional. Of course failing is not an option; DLSU makes sure that all
accounting students really acquire the skills that an accountant should have and they
test these skills through qualifying exams, and most importantly a minimum grade of 2.0
in their accounting subjects. Truly, it is a survival of the fittest, and most dedicated.
Higher batches of accounting students usually say that out of 8 blocks of freshman BSA
students, only 2 classes survive until the end. With all of these intense training, rigorous
analysis of business transactions, it is safe to say that Lasallian graduates of accounting
course are competitive, strong and dedicated. Because of the hardships, trials, and
obstacles that they have conquered, they have learned how to be a competitive person,
competing against themselves and the stress brought about by accounting.
10

Graduating from De La Salle University opens the door to many opportunities.
Students are not anymore worried about where they will work after graduating instead,
banks or firms will be the one who calls you from time to time and encourage you to
work for them. In short there are many job opportunities given to a LaSalle graduate and
DLSU gives the student an edge in terms of the hiring process of some banks or firms.
However, there are still some banks in the Philippines which does not take into consider
the university or school that an applicant came from; one of which is the Bank of the
Philippine Islands(BPI). BPI has known to be one of the top banks in the Philippines and
throughout the years, BPI have scattered all over the country and proven themselves as
one of the best and we are lucky enough to conduct an interview on Ms.Jhoanna V.
Cruz who is under the human resources department of BPI-Philam life assurance
Corporation. We asked questions like Does being a La Salle graduate give the
applicant an advantage in the hiring process? ,In general, what can you say about
Lasallian accountants? According to Ms. Cruz, their hiring decisions do not include the
university that they graduated from or school where they came from. However we also
asked them what their qualifications in hiring accountants are and these are the exact
words that they said through e-mail:
Candidate must possess at least a Bachelor's/College Degree in
Finance/Accountancy/Banking or equivalent.
Required skill(s): Working knowledge in MS Office applications
especially in Excel
Preferred skill(s): Patient, Keen sense for details, Analytical and with good
customer service skills, Fast Learner, Willing to work long hours
11

Required language(s): English, Filipino
Even though they do not consider the university as a factor, their qualifications
for the job also seem to be high and requires an applicant to be competent, dedicated
and has mastery about their chosen field. Yes, being a Lasallian gives applicants an
edge but sometimes, that edge does not only dwell on the name rather it dwells on the
values that he or she has, and the skills he/she obtained as a Lasallian. We need not to
proclaim that we ourselves are graduates of La Salle, what we should do is that we
should humbly show them what we are capable of and prove to them that it is not only
the name that is great, but also the people behind it is great.
Banks and firms have different ways and qualifications in hiring accountants.
There are banks that take in to consider the university that an applicant graduated from
and Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) is one of those banks. RCBC is
also known as one of the biggest banks in the country and we are thankful that we got
the chance to interview Ms. Denise Donato, Relationship Manager, Treasury
Department of RCBC. Her answers give proof that being a graduate from La Salle gives
an advantage to the applicant because of various reasons. First question that we asked
her is what their qualifications in hiring accounts are. They said Work experience,
educational background, personality during interview We then asked if they consider
the college that an applicant graduated from and according to them, it would be a plus if
they came from top schools. Next question that we asked is, Does being a La Salle
graduate give the applicant an advantage in the hiring process? They answered, that it
would help them be considered for the position. We asked what the characteristics that
gave Lasallians the advantage were. Their exact words were:
12

Given that La Salle is known to produce good accountant graduates, the fact the
applicant graduated from the course means they underwent rigorous training and
education. Im aware of the modular system and the high grade standard
required to stay in the course.
They also said that they have seen graduates from La Salle who rise up the
ranks, moreover, she said Lasallian accountants are flexible, and able to take on job
requirements that are not even related to accounting and they do not hove regrets in
hiring the,. Lastly, we asked in general, what they can say about Lasallian accountants.
She replied, They are well rounded. They are able to deliver on any given task you
require and meet deadlines on time. They also team players.
Based on the answers of Ms. Donato, being a Lasallian really has an impact in
the process of hiring an applicant. It would give them an advantage because of the
credibility that De La Salle University has. Through the years, DLSU has proven
themselves that they can produce high quality accountants that a bank can trust and
depend on. It only goes to show that being a Lasallian gives the student an edge not
only because of the name that it gives or the popularity of the University but most
importantly, because of the skills, training, and values a Lasallian graduate has which is
what banks or firms are looking for. In these cases, the competitiveness of a Lasallian
graduate takes place which is one of the reasons why they are in demand today.
This paper tackled the increasing demand for accountants despite of all the
issues that are currently raising in the economy specifically the increase in the
demand of Lasallian accountants which was discussed and studied thoroughly with
13

the help of the resources that we found. It had also shown the educational
advantages of De La Salle University and the competitiveness of a Lasallian graduate
by putting statements of one of the best accounting professor in DLSU and by
mentioning the partnerships of DLSU to different international accounting institutions.
The demand also increases because of the increase in financial crisis of the countrys
economy and there is a need for the businesses and firms to hire high quality
accountants to monitor their economic standing. Even with the different issues in
accounting scandals and crimes, Lasallian accountants can still cope with the
difficulties in the economy because of the superb training of accountants offered by
the De La Salle University. Up to this period in time, DLSU continues to produce
successful accountants for the future of our economy which has given them the
credibility and trust that the public truly needs. Being a La Salle graduate truly gives
the accountant an edge not only because of the standing of the university and the
name it gives to its students but most importantly because of the excellence in
education that It gives to each of its students from the moment each student become
a part of De La Salle University up to the time when they grab their diploma and apply
what they have acquired in serving our country which also means responding to the
call of their duties.




14

Reference List
Chalmers, K., Mitrione, L., Yuen, S., Fyfe, M., Weygandt, J. J., Kieso, D. E., et al.
(2010). Principles of accounting. Milton : John Wiley & Sons Australia,Ltd. (Original
work published 2007)
LaBrosse, J. R., Caminal, R. O., & Singh, D. (2011). Managing risk in the financial
system. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.
Cudia, C. P. (2009). Factors that influence the final grades of students in Managerial
Accounting Course in De La Salle University. Journal of International Business
Research , 8, p39-59.
Manalo, M. V. (2011). Developing a business ethics curriculum for the bachelor of
science in accountancy (BSA) students of de la sale university (DLSU)-manila.
Journal of Modern Accounting and Auditing.
100 percent passing - cpa board exam may 2012." PinoyExchange - The Biggest
Pinoy Online Community. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Dec. 2012.<http://www.pinoyexchange
.com/forums/showthread.php?t=571604>.
"CIMA partnerships with AIM, DLSU to upgrade accountants' competitiveness. The
Manila Bulletin Newspaper Online. 28 Nov. 2012. <http://www.mb.com.ph/node/29
2225/cima-partner#.ULYP_uTOkxE>.

"Demand for Accountants to Remain Strong in 2009 - A.E. Feldman." A.E. Feldman:
15

Executive Recruiting Firm Blog and Executive Search Firm Blog. 28 Nov. 2012.
<http://blog.aefeldman.com/2009/01/12/demand-for-accountants-to-remain-
strong-in-2009/>.
James Associates. (2012, May 8). Demand for Accountants Grows . Accounting &
FinanceRecruiters | Stephen James Associates. Retrieved October 6, 2012, from
http://www.stephenjames.com/about-us/press-release-10379.news
Morgan, Lloyd. " Demand for Accountants to rise by more than 4 percent." N.p., n.d.
Web. 6 Oct. 2012 <http://www.lloydmorgan.com.au/news/2010/2/5/demand-for-
accountants-to-rise-by-more-than-4-percent/?493>.
Cruz, Jhoanna V. Human Resources, BPI-Philam Life Assurance Corporation
Donato, Denise, Relationship Manager, Treasury Department, Rizal Commercial
Banking Corporation